Egg Freezing

One of the greatest pressures facing women today is how to have a baby before it’s too late and your egg quality dramatically decreases.Perhaps you haven’t met the right partner, or you can’t afford the time off work to have a baby. Either way, leaving pregnancy until your late 30’s or early 40’s means that chances of conceiving naturally or having a successful pregnancy are significantly lower.Unlike men, who can often create sperm their entire adult life, women’s bodies do not make new eggs- we are born with our limited lifetime supply and as we age, so do our eggs.A common misconception is that as long as you are menstruating, you can conceive. Not so, as many older would-be mums discover and face the reality that older eggs means difficulty falling pregnant and a high miscarriage rate with an increased risk of abnormalities. After 40, using an Egg Donor may be the reality, but there is another option if you plan ahead.

A very real possibility is to have your eggs (Oocytes) frozen. Increasingly, this is becoming more popular with women who realize that they need a backup plan, who want to take out some future baby insurance for when the time is right.

Cyprus clinic respond to some of our questions regarding their program:

Is there a cut-off age for women to freeze their eggs?To get a successful pregnancy rate and good recovery rate from oocyte vitrification, it is better to freeze oocytes before the age of 35. But this is not a cut-off age. It is also possible to freeze oocyte's after 35 but they need to know that their chances will be lower. It is also possible but not advisable to freeze oocytes when women are over 40 years old.

Is the method of freezing important?There are a few methods to vitrify oocytes. All methods are possible, but success rates depend on details during vitrification.These details are more important than the methods used.

How long can oocytes be frozen for?It is possible to keep them frozen for many years. The optimal freezing time however is 3-5 years.

How much does it cost?We charge from 2000 Euros to freeze and store them for 2 years. After 2 years, yearly storage costs apply.Please use the contact form and we will send further cost details.When you are ready to proceed with the stored Oocytes, we charge 2500 Euros to thaw+ do ICSI-IVF+ ET.

What are the chances of success with frozen oocytes?Many clinics in the world show their success rate at around 40-50%. Our success rate is 50-60%.

Why is freezing your eggs a better option than trying to conceive naturally for older women?Because after 35 years of age, Oocyte quality and pregnancy rates decrease. Also the percentage rate of certain genetic disorders increase.

Will I have to take medication?We have to do COH treatment, then oocyte retrival and we can only freeze MII quality oocytes.

(COH refers to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. The patient is prepared through stimulation meds, just like in an IVF treatment program. The only difference is, the retrieved eggs are not fertilized, but stored).

(MII refers to the quality of the eggs. There are MII, MI and GV. GV are the ones that cannot be used. MI quality eggs are sub-optimal and usually do not produce pregnancy, so they don't survive the freeze/thaw process. For this end, only the highest quality ones are frozen).

For more information, medication schedules, costs or possible locations please contact us and we will forward those to you.